


Time Warp

by fonduelefou (IntoTheStardust)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Reality, Case Fic, Created by Gabriel, First Kiss, Gabriel Being Gabriel, Gabriel is a Little Shit, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Time Shenanigans, sorta?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 12:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11104230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntoTheStardust/pseuds/fonduelefou
Summary: The Winchester brothers and their trusty feathered friend are on a case when it goes badly wrong, but thankfully someone is there to save their asses. Problem is, the way in which that someone saved them may prove to be more trouble than it's worth.





	Time Warp

**Author's Note:**

> Title has nothing to do with the song. Well, maybe a little, but not much. Anyway, this was written in like an hour while I was dosed up on cold medicine and battling a stuffy head, so that might explain the weirdness of this whole idea. Anyhow, hope you enjoy! If you find any mistakes, please tell me so I can fix them, as this was not beta'd :)

“Sam! Cas!” Dean yelled, shoving at the creature currently pushing him up against the wall. It was no use. It was at least twice his size, and he’d already lost all his weapons. His only hope was the two men he’d come here with, and as he looked around the room, eyes searching desperately for them, he realized that they were in no place to answer his frantic plea for help, both of them struggling against their own competition. From the corner of his eye Dean caught sight of a pipe wrench laying abandoned on the warehouse floor, and, resigning himself to the fact that it was the only chance he had left, he ducked under his opposition’s arm and lunged for the steel rod. Too late he realized his mistake, as the creature gave a malicious laugh, pulling a long blade out of it’s jacket sleeve. Dean swallowed hard, eyes wide, as the creature stepped forward, wicked grin in place, and raised its arm. Squeezing his eyes shut, Dean prepared for the worst, raising his hands in front of his face to minimize the damage he was about to receive. 

He waited. And waited. He flinched, as suddenly he was surrounded by the sound of loud, overplayed pop music, and his eyes flew open. No longer was he in the decrepit old warehouse beside the waterfront. No, he seemed to be right smack dab in the middle of a high school house party, judging by the music choice and red solo cups being carried by clearly intoxicated teenagers. How he had gotten there, he had no clue. 

“Hey, Dean! What’s up, dude?!” 

Dean turned quickly and found himself face to face with a cocky looking guy wearing a bright red letterman jacket. He couldn’t recall ever meeting the guy, but apparently the guy knew him well enough. 

“Hey, uh, man,” Dean replied with a grin, hiding the unease he felt. He let out a surprised noise when the guy pulled him into a one-armed hug, clapping him on the shoulder. 

“Dude, that last touchdown you scored? Epic!” The guy roared, and the people within earshot whooped and cheered in agreement. “Come on, you’re getting totally smashed tonight, dude. You deserve it,”

With those words the guy led Dean towards the kitchen, arm still firmly around his shoulders. He only let go once he’d pushed Dean down onto a chair and shoved a red solo cup filled with strong liquor into his hands. He grinned at Dean once more, throwing him a thumbs up before returning into the midst of the party. 

Dean sat, shocked, for a moment, before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He set down the solo cup on the kitchen counter in front of him and stood up from his seat, heading out into the hallway. He needed to find Sam and Cas, and they needed t—

He froze, eyes wide, as he caught sight of his reflection in a mirror that sat floor to ceiling against the opposite wall. He wore the same red letterman jacket as the guy who had been so friendly to him before, and suddenly his talk of a touchdown made sense. The fact that no one found it odd he was at a high school party was also explained by the way he seemed to be back in his late teens, his features a little softer and his skin less marked by scars and other blemishes. He wore jeans that were way too skinny, and his hair was gelled back out of his face. 

“I look like a douche,” Dean grumbled with distaste as he looked himself up and down. 

“You said it, not me,” said a girl dressed all in black as she shouldered past him on her way to the living room. 

Dean shook his head again. Focus, he willed himself. Find Sammy, find Cas, and then figure out how the hell to get out of here. Then you can worry about what the fuck is going on. 

He didn’t have to search very long before he found Sam, standing beside a group of teens and craning his neck to look around the room with an anxious expression. It occurred to Dean that Sam seemed to be about the same age as he was, and it boggled Dean’s brain a little, as he was so used to always seeing Sam four years younger than him. Dean felt a pang of sentimentality at seeing Sam so young again, but he shrugged it off and kept going. No time for that right now. When Sam caught sight of Dean he sighed in relief, rushing over to his brother. 

“Dean, what’s—” Sam started. 

“I know!” Dean interrupted, “It’s fucking weird. It’s like we’ve been zapped into some alternate dimension where we’re teenagers again. It’s not time travel, either. I mean, listen to the music! This song was released, what, a week ago? We’re not in the right time period to be this age! And, added to that, we’re not even the right ages! Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure we’ve always had a few years in between us. Whatever’s doing this is one powerful son of a bitch.”

Sam shook his head, not in a no-you’re-wrong way, more in a why-does-this-shit-always-happen-to-us way. “We need to figure out how to get back, or at least find whatever’s doing this and try to get them to reverse it. What’s the last thing you remember before we got thrown here?”

“I was about to get shived by one of those things we were supposed to be taking care of. You?” 

“Same,” Sam replied. “So, that doesn’t help us. Maybe Cas knows something. Have you seen him around yet?”

Dean raised an eyebrow, “You don’t think that if I found his feathery ass he’d be here right now?”

“Alright, alright,” Sam granted, rolling his eyes. “Should we split up and try to find him? Or should we stick together?”

Dean shrugged, “Place doesn’t seem too dangerous. I don’t think we’ll run into any trouble unless our other-reality selves sucker punched one of the jocks or something.” 

“Okay, well, I’ll head this way. Try to talk to some of the kids, they might know him,” Sam said, and he walked off to a set of stairs that led to the second floor of the building. 

Dean snorted at Sam’s words. He himself appeared to be eighteen at most, about the same age as most of the teenagers at the party, yet he called them ‘kids’. They really were getting old. He turned to survey the room, looking for someone who might know Cas. He wasn’t sure what to look for exactly. After all, what type of guy would alternate-reality, non-angel Cas be? 

“Hey, do you know where Cas is?” Dean asked, tapping a mean looking guy on the shoulder.

“Who?” he replied, before turning back to laugh with his friends. 

Not an asshole, then. Well, that should have been pretty obvious. 

“Know where I can find Cas?” Dean asked a group of preppy girls who were leaning against the wall looking absolutely hammered. 

“No, sorry,” one of them replied. 

“Saw him earlier,” another said. “D’nno where he is now, though.”

Dean sighed and continued to walk around the room asking whoever he ran into if they had seen Cas, but kept getting similar responses. He stopped in the middle of the room and ran a hand through his hair, feeling lost. It was then that he noticed a girl in plaid and a beanie gazing at him from across the room. He quickly averted his eyes and continued snaking his way through the crowd to find Cas. After a while, though, he noticed that she was still staring at him. Instead of turning away again he made his way over to her with a smile that hid how worn down he was beginning to feel. 

Before he could open his mouth to ask if she knew where Cas was for what seemed the hundredth time that night, she spoke. 

“Looking for your boyfriend?” she asked, mirroring the smile he wore. 

“Wait, what?” Dean asked, smile faltering. 

The girl’s features were sympathetic as she said, “Cas, your boyfriend. You’ve been looking for him for a while, I heard you talking to the others.”

“Oh! Oh, no, we’re not together!” Dean hurried to say with a nervous laugh. 

Instantly the smile dropped from her face, replaced with an expression that was a mixture of shock and sadness. “You guys broke up?!”

“What? No!” Dean said, waving his hand to stop her. 

“Oh, thank god!” the girl exclaimed, pressing a hand to her chest in obvious relief as the smile returned to her face. “You had me scared there for a minute! You two are, like, the best couple ever. If you guys broke up the whole school would be hysterical. Anyway, what I was gonna say before is that I can help you. He’s just outside in the garden with a bunch of the guys.”

“Uh, thank you,” Dean said, unsure of how to process everything she had just said. 

“No problem! Tell him to come talk to me once he gets the chance, I haven’t talked to him in ages,” the girl said with a grin, waving as Dean made his way through the door that led into the backyard. 

The cool night air nipped at his face, and he was suddenly glad for the obnoxiously bright letterman jacket that kept him warm. The garden was lit with dozens of strings of fairy lights that hung between the trees and in the bushes, casting everything in a rather dazzlingly pretty glow. Dean surveyed the area, trying to spot Cas, even though he wasn’t sure what a teenaged version of him would look like. He knew the instant he saw him that it was him, however. His dark hair was a little longer than what Dean was used to, and a few pieces fell down across his forehead, just barely staying out of his eyes, which were hidden by a pair of dainty glasses that rested gently on the bridge of his nose. A soft looking, tan coloured wool cardigan draped elegantly across his shoulders, bunched up at his elbows along with the dark, royal blue button-up shirt that he wore beneath. Dark jeans were rolled up once along the cuffs, leaving a pale strip of skin visible between them and the deep brown boat shoes that covered his feet. 

For a moment Dean was struck at how undeniably beautiful he looked, wondering back at the girl’s talk of them being together, and he felt a feeling somehow akin to loss, knowing that it was a completely different reality. It wasn’t real. It never would be. Dean shook his head, knocking the thoughts from his mind. What the hell was he doing? For one, he, Dean Winchester, was straight. Why should he feel sad about not having Cas as his in the first place? And for another, he really, really had more pressing issues at hand, so even if he had some thoughts niggling at the back of his mind that he should probably pay attention to, now was most certainly not the time. 

Cas was standing in a small circle of guys who were chatting amiably between themselves, wearing content smiles and expensive clothing. Cas himself bore a strained smile as his eyes scanned the surrounding area, presumably looking for Sam and Dean. 

“Hey, Cas!” Dean called out, and Cas turned at the sound of his name, strained smile turning to one of relief when he saw Dean, before his expression changed yet again, eyes wide. 

“Dean,” he said simply, stepping away from the group, his tone urgent. “It’s—”

“Ooooh, look!” one of Cas’ supposed friends called out with a smirk, stepping up beside him and flinging an arm across his shoulders, “It’s Cassie’s boyfriend! You two want us to give you some privacy?”

“Yes, please,” Cas replied, seeming annoyed at the teen. Dean ignored the way his stomach flipped at the implication of Cas’ response, even though he knew he hadn’t meant it in the way the boy had implied. 

The teen let out a knowing chuckle, patting Cas roughly on the shoulder. “Go get it, Cassie,” he said with a wink, before heading back to his other friends. 

As soon as he was out of earshot, Cas leaned in close to Dean and began speaking in a low tone, “Dean, it’s Gabriel.”

“What?!” Dean said, a little louder than he had intended, causing Cas to glare at him. He cleared his throat, “I mean…how do you know?”

Cas rolled his eyes, a bad habit he’d picked up from Sam. “Archangel powers, Dean. I can feel it all around us,”

“Oh, right,” Dean said sheepishly. “Forgot you could do that. So…where is he?” 

“He’s right over—” Cas began, turning around, before frowning. 

“Cas?” Dean asked, a sense of foreboding already creeping into his system. 

“He was right there a few seconds ago,” Cas said, looking all around them as if he might pop out of thin air. Which, Dean supposed, he could. 

“What do we do n—” Dean started, but was cut off by a very loud, very familiar voice.

“Surprise!” Gabriel called out, leaping out from behind a large oak tree, where he had most definitely not been a moment before. He, too, looked younger, fitting right in with the teenagers he walked by. No one save for Dean and Cas seemed to pay him any heed as he walked towards them. And why would they? If this was Gabriel’s game, as Cas suspected, he wouldn’t be seen unless he wanted to be. 

“Gabriel,” Cas acknowledged tightly. 

“Cassie! Is that the sort of welcome I get for saving your lives?” Gabriel pouted.

“Saving our lives?” Dean raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, genius,” Gabriel said, exasperated. “Who do you think got you out of that warehouse just before all three of you breathed your last?”

“Why were you watching us?” Cas asked guardedly. 

Gabriel shrugged, a lopsided smirk on his face, “That’s for me to know, and you to find out. Maybe. Probably not, actually.” 

“And why bring us here? Why put us in this weird-ass alternate universe and not just—I don’t know—drop us outside the warehouse?” Dean asked, annoyance slowly seeping into his voice. 

“Oh, Dean, you should know how I roll by now! That would’ve been no fun at all,” Gabriel replied. 

“Well, you’ve had your fun, now let us go,” Dean reasoned with a forced smile. 

“Sure,” Gabriel said, shrugging uncaringly. “But first, you gotta do a little something for me.”

Dean and Cas locked eyes for a second. Whatever Gabriel wanted, it couldn’t be good. 

“What do you want?” Dean asked hesitantly. 

Gabriel’s smirk grew more prominent. “You know how I’m all about teaching lessons, giving people what they deserve, the whole karma shebang?” Dean nodded cautiously. Gabriel continued, “Well, you see, you and Cassie here have been jumping around your feelings for each other for a long—no, don’t raise your eyebrow at me, Dean, I’m an archangel, I can see right through you—long time. You’ve told nobody. Now, I want you to tell everybody.”

“What—” Dean’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat, licking his lips before going on and avoiding Cas’ gaze, which he could feel on him. “What do you want us to do, exactly?” 

“Simple, really,” Gabriel said, seeming pleased that Dean was agreeing so far. “I’m going to gather everyone at the party over here in the garden, announce that the two of you want to show everyone how much you care for each other, and then, while everyone is watching, you two are going to kiss.”

“Just…kiss?” Dean asked. 

“Yup,” Gabriel answered, popping the p. 

Dean steeled his nerves, turning to face Cas, who hadn’t said a word since Gabriel had revealed his plan. “What do you think, Cas?”

Cas slowly met his eyes with his own, blue and unsure. “Do you truly have feelings for me, Dean?”

“I—I don’t know,” Dean confessed, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. “I—yeah. I think so.”

It felt odd, saying it out loud, especially when he had been practically forced to say it now that Gabriel had laid everything out in the open. Somewhere in his mind, though, it felt right. Maybe being made to so suddenly confront his feelings wasn’t too bad of a thing. It didn’t give him the opportunity to hesitate, or to doubt. He just had to go with his most prominent gut instinct. And, at that moment, it had been that yes, he did in fact have feelings for Castiel. There’d be time enough after this shit show to figure out what exactly that entailed. 

The uncertainty in Cas’ eyes shifted to something brighter, and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Then, Dean, I say let’s do it. As long as you have no other requests?” Cas turned to look at Gabriel, who smiled and gave a half shrug. 

“I have other requests,” Gabriel said. “Just not for you.”

“For Sam?” Dean guessed.

“Ka-ching! Right on the money, Dean-o! I’ve got plans for your little bro. Don’t worry, nothing dangerous. Unless he wants it to be,” Gabriel added the last part as almost an afterthought. 

“Does he even get a say in this?” Dean argued. 

“Who do you take me for? I’m an archangel, not a criminal. Of course he gets a say,” Gabriel replied, looking legitimately affronted at Dean’s accusation. “Now, are you boys ready to party or what?”

Dean looked over at Cas, who nodded.

“We’re ready,” said Cas. 

“Alright!” Gabriel shouted excitedly. He clapped his hands, and suddenly all the partygoers apart from those already outside were streaming out into the garden, forming a circle around Gabriel, Dean, and Cas. A few of them gave Gabriel high fives or kissed his cheek, and Dean rolled his eyes at Gabriel’s showy use of his power. Last out of the house was Sam, who had apparently finally noticed that something was going on. 

“Gabe?” Sam asked with surprise when he saw the shorter man.

“Sam! Oh, Sam, Sammy, Sammich—it’s so good to see you again!” Gabriel said, arms held open in a welcoming gesture. 

“But what are y—oh,” Sam stopped short as the situation dawned on him. “So what is it this time, huh? Griffons? Scottish caber toss competition? The original Olympics? What do we have to play along with now?”

Gabriel waved a hand dismissively, “Nothing so drastic, I assure you. Though those are some pretty good ideas, I’ll have to write them down so I don’t forget them. No, this time it’s a lot simpler. I’m only asking Dean and Cas to do a little showing off, and then I’ll get to your part.”

“Showing off…?” Sam trailed off.

“You’ll see,” Gabriel promised with a grin. With a click of his fingers a table appeared in front of him, and he quickly stepped up onto its surface. “Everyone, if I can have your attention, please!” The garden fell silent as everyone stood looking up at Gabriel. “Thank you. Now, as most of you know, my dear friends Dean and Cas have recently gotten together.” A few people cheered, while others clapped. Sam was just confused. “Tonight, they’d like to show you all just how much they love each other. Dean, Cas,” Gabriel said, hopping off from the table and raising his arm in an inviting movement, “Be my guest!”

Dean was freaking out a little, trying to reassure himself by repeatedly telling himself that the people he was about to kiss Cas in front of weren’t real. Except for Gabriel and Sam, but Gabriel was the one who wanted this, and Sam was his brother, it wasn’t as if either of them would care. It didn’t help. He felt as Cas took his hand in his, intertwining their fingers, and though his first thought was that it would only increase his anxiety, he almost immediately felt himself relaxing. 

Dean glanced over his shoulder at Cas. “Thank you,” he whispered, and Cas smiled back at him softly. 

With a deep breath, Dean climbed up onto the table, pulling Cas up behind him with the hand that still held his firmly. In the sea of faces surrounding them, Dean spotted Sam, looking more confused than he had ever seen him before. A few steps from him was Gabriel, who smirked and gave a quick nod, urging him to continue.

“We do this and you beam us home, right?” Dean asked.

Gabriel nodded, “Cross my heart. As long as you give us a proper show.”

Dean nodded. A proper show. He could do that. Dean lifted the hand holding Cas’, and their audience erupted into cheers. Nerves settled slightly, Dean turned to Cas and said, in a voice loud enough for only him to hear, “Alright?”

“Yes, Dean,” Cas replied with a small eye roll and a smile, and to Dean’s surprise Cas let go of his hand, moving it to press lightly at the small of his back as the other moved up into his hair, pushing their lips together. The crowd’s cheers grew louder as the kiss continued, and Dean could feel as every doubt he’d ever had about his feelings for Cas slowly melted away until there was nothing but certainty in its place. They broke apart after a few moments to catch their breath, and Dean smiled softly at Cas’ nervous, unsure expression before moving forward and placing one more quick kiss to his wonderfully delicate lips. 

“I take it my actions weren’t unwanted, then?” Cas asked when he pulled away again. 

“Not at all,” Dean grinned, pulling the slightly shorter man against his chest in a tight hug, nuzzling his nose against his neck. 

“Fantastic show, lovebirds, but now it’s Sammy’s turn!” Gabriel called out above the noise of the crowd. “Off the table, you two, you’re stealing my spotlight,” he said to Dean and Cas, who did as he asked, making their way over to stand beside Sam. 

“I—what d’you want me to do?” Sam asked, eyes flicking between Gabriel and Cas and Dean, still amazed at what he had just seen. At least there’d be no more eye-fucking every time they were in the same room together, and no more mopeyness when one of them was left without the other for too long. He doubted they’d be separable for even a moment for weeks after this, though, and that could make things a little tricky. 

“Along the same theme, though a little different,” Gabriel said, brushing imaginary dust from his coat. He looked back up at Sam, making direct, intense eye contact as he said, “I dare you to kiss me, Sam Winchester. In turn you and your brother, and little Cassie, get to go home.”

At his words, the surrounding mass practically exploded into wolf whistles and loud whoops. Sam waited for them to die down a little before he spoke, trying to keep a straight face.

“Is that all?” Sam asked, taking a step towards Gabriel, failing to keep the grin from his face. “You want a kiss?”

“Up on the table of honour,” Gabriel added slyly, and Sam took another step towards him. 

“Sounds good to me,” Sam replied, closing the remaining space between them. He connected their lips forcefully, pushing Gabriel backwards until his back hit a tree and he gave a little gasp. 

“Table,” Gabriel reminded him, though he seemed dazed. 

In reply Sam kissed him even harder, nipping at his bottom lip. He let his hands travel lower until they settled under Gabriel’s ass, then lifted him from the ground, Gabriel reflexively wrapping his legs around Sam’s waist. Sam carried him like that, kissing him all the while, to the top of the table, where the partygoers went absolutely nuts. 

Dean had long since turned away from them, trying to remove the image from his brain as he pressed his forehead against Cas’ shoulder. Cas, on the other hand, was watching them attentively, head tipped slightly to the side and eyebrows furrowed as if he was trying to figure something out. He noticed as Gabriel removed a hand from Sam’s hair for just long enough to click his fingers, and suddenly he and Dean were no longer standing outside at a house party, but were instead sitting in the Impala, their bodies and clothes returned to their proper state. 

In their silence, Dean moved a hand across the car to Cas’ side, threading their fingers together. When he drew up the courage to look at him, Dean found Cas already watching him, and he gave a soft laugh, which Cas echoed. They didn’t need to say anything more. Gabriel had pretty much done everything for them already. Speaking of Gabriel…

“Hey, where are the other two?” Dean asked. 

“Hang on, I’ll take a look,” Cas said, closing his eyes, and Dean knew that he was reaching out, trying to find Gabriel’s grace. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes. “They’re in one of Gabriel’s safe houses,” he replied, and Dean was surprised to see the light blush on his cheeks as he gave his answer. 

“What are they do—wait,” Dean said, stopping himself. “You mean they…?”

“Yes, they are…currently in bed together.” Cas confirmed, and his blush deepened. 

“Jesus Christ, I need to bleach my brain,” Dean whined, rubbing a hand across his face as if he could scrub himself clean of the images his mind was supplying against his will. 

“Would you—” Cas began, almost shyly, after another moment of silence, “I mean…could I kiss you again? Though, I understand if you only did it because of—”

Dean leaned across the space between them, shutting him up with a press of his lips before he could continue. 

“Of course you can kiss me,” Dean said gently as he pulled back. “Listen, I’m still not sure what the hell anything means, but…what I do know is that I like you, Cas. A lot. Whatever else comes with admitting that, I’ll just have to work through it.”

Cas smiled at him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be there to help, if you need it.”

“Just like with everything else, huh?” Dean grinned, running a hand through Cas’ silky hair before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to his temple. 

“Whatever you need,” Cas replied, turning his head slightly to capture Dean’s lips with his own.


End file.
